Charter Diversity

“Hopes, Fears, and Reality: A Balanced Look at American Charter Schools in 2008”

The fourth annual report by a charter school research project concludes that charters are “more different than alike”—in the populations they serve, their academic missions and results, and their responses to local needs and capacity.

“Chartering turns out to be less of a cohesive movement than a collection of distinct local efforts with vastly different approaches and results,” says the report by the National Charter School Research Project, based at the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington.

The new volume includes five chapters, including looks at how charter schools tackle special education and an analysis of what college-preparatory charters offer inner-city students. Another looks at how charters approach teaching and learning.

“Charter schools are more likely than other public schools to focus their educational designs on specific missions and populations; adapt their school day and year to meet the needs of their students; customize their programs to help struggling students; and bring college-prep courses to inner-city students,” it says.

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